The Quest Of The Rightful
by Dan Amsterdam The Second
Summary: It's 2073. Once thought to be eliminated, reports of a live sighting greatly concern the Rightful.
1. A Loose End Appears

A LOOSE END APPEARS

None of the characters, items or locations are owned by that of this author.

My name is Captain Earth. Originally from the lineage of Captain America, our name has changed after the country of America had been retired after the concept of countries had been ruled defunct. I and my subordinates are of The Rightful, named for the position on this planet which was promised to us but not fully realized at a time. We serve the Overseers, the wisest of humanity whom we trust to determine our law and economy. It is here, the stronghold named The Baxter Building by its previous inhabitants, that we observe and await orders from the Overseers on whatever threat may come upon our society, and train for future missions.

In recent years our enemy, collectively referred to as the Faded, has dwindled to the point of extinction and as such we combat fewer threats in our current day. Nonetheless we are to keep a sharp physical and mental state, and remain prepared for whatever dangers may come to our way of living. As were my usual routine, I engaged in an obstacle course followed by a sparring bout with one of my subordinates. During my melee practice with Spider-Person, I received a distress call, the level of which indicated a most secure matter.

"Good evening Captain. As you are aware, our world is currently safe from the menace of the Faded. However, as you may have noted from our use of the world "currently", there may be a sign that could indicate a resurgence. Some 0500 hours a sighting has been reported of a lone female Faded in the Outskirts. How this particular Faded has remained obscured from scrutiny appears to be an oversight on our part. Nonetheless, you are now tasked with bringing this potential threat under control, lest the Faded find a return to prominence. You are dismissed."

Truly after all this time this was looking to be our biggest mission in years. I would need but the top lieutenants to overlook the troops: Spider-Person, The Hulk, Iron Person and Thor would best serve on a mission of this importance. Our current crisis is of the utmost importance and must be brought to an absolute head.


	2. Backstory

BACKSTORY

The troops are preparing for the mission in which we will take off in about three hours. In the meantime I have been assigned a biographer who will chronicle my adventures and history as a form of inspiration to others of the Rightful. The biographer has mentioned that certain properties may be altered, such as wording to make me sound more articulate, but I do not believe I would have to worry about that.

It would seem reasonable at this point to give some exposition on how our battles began so that future generations may have clarity. It was a little more than half a century ago that the Faded held general control of our world. Each of the Faded, even the most seemingly impoverished of them had a power of fortunence that would eventually benefit them. All the while the Rightful held a lower status in their society.

The fall of the Faded was however to come to prominence, albeit the process was needed to be taken slowly. The Overseers knew that a direct approach would lead to heavy insurrection, so thus they employed the tactic of demoralization. Infiltrating their ranks, the Overseers would slowly break down the spirits of the Faded and endorse symphony for the Rightful. This shift in public opinion would allow the Rightful to grow in size and in a few decades outnumber the Faded.

Altough a few of the Faded had seen through this plan, they were typically quelled by the convinced masses. Come the decade of 2060 there would however be seen a violent uprising. Best laid plans could not always remain in secret and by this time the masses caught on to our strategies. This fact was of little concern however we had the numbers advantage by this point. The Faded were ready for war, alas to their avail our forces would overwhelm them.

The Faded were warn down to small camps of thousands, soon to shrink down to groups of hundreds and then dozens. On a less-frequent basis we would be dealing with these Faded pockets. Then the day came where it felt safe to declare the Faded completely vanquished from this world.

Today that declaration would be deemed invalid. With the sighting of a Faded woman, there stood speculation whether she was with any more of the Faded, and how many of them there would be. No matter the number, this threat must be taken care of lest they regrow in number and slowly gain enough power to take rule again.

Every mission is of the utmost importance. Our war was thought over, but now we must make sure that this will be our final battle.


	3. Fading Quickly

FADING QUICKLY

We have approached the fourth day of our journey. In earlier days we had the benefit of mechanized transportation, today dwindling resources leave us to travel afoot. Currently we are an hour or so from the village of Llurks.

In this particular village lived a tribe of people known as the Skillful, who stood more or less as our allies in more hectic days. Whether we would rejoin forces one day is unknown, for now we come to ask only of supplies and rest. Upon stepping foot into the village, their streets were found empty and with a slight smell of ash lingering in the air. It was then that a group approached.

"Well lookee here, it seems we got us the Captain America or whatever!" I quickly realized that now we were to deal with a group of the Fading. The Fading, a subset of Skillful individuals who have grown corrupted to the level of an average Faded. Normally the Fading are not considered enough of a threat to demand the caliber of task forces such as us, this circumstance will require us to respond to them.

"We are hereby requesting your cooperation and that you stand down from any altercation!" Whom appeared to be the leader of the Fading merely smirked and scoffing "Yeah, nice try lady. You're on our turf now, and ain't nobody invited ya. And you're kinda getting in our way, now that's breakin' rule number one and NOBODY is gonna have that." His piece apparently said, he pulled out a long blade and raised it in front of him as a non-verbal signal of battle.

This was not a melee we wished to see linger so we went in with the full force necessary to bring forth a quick end. Naturally I started off by tossing my shield into the crowd and rushing in to retrieve it. Spider-Person fought with the usual combinations of kicks and web swings, occasionally shooting web into the open mouths of attackers. The Hulk, while not at his full potential due to his intake of anti-depressants, managed to hold his own against one of the Fading. The battle much to our disappointment took over an hour to fully quell.

As the dust settled from all the chaos, we began to see the townspeople emerge from their homes. "Thank you for rescuing us from those Faded. As first we were worried you were the Samurai returning to settle their feud and end up leveling the whole town, but we're glad you came here." We appreciated the thanks, but now realized we would have a new problem in the Samurai in our hands. For the moment we would receive the supplies and rest we had sought. Whatever dangers at hand would have to wait until tomorrow.


	4. Enclosed

ENCLOSED

It has been two days since we had departed from the village. The weather had not hindered us as of late, though the brief periods of light rain were not preferable. By estimation we will require another three days before our destination is reached. By this point morale has dropped and many of the troops are most perceptive to the theory of the Faded being a lone survivor and thus of no threat. I myself would prefer such an outcome, but nonetheless chances cannot be taken and it is our mission to resolve what problems may be.

We now approach what appears to be a series of caverns facing us. From above the terrain appears too jagged to safely navigate across, leaving us with only the option of traversing the caves. We march in three at a time, trusting each other that we will not become separated in the darkness.

For the first series of minutes there is not one instance of light to be seen, and as such we required X-41's heightened senses to find our way through. Hope would be renewed when a glimpse of light was spotted. This light was discovered to be a torch. Hearing our footsteps, a lone Samurai approached from out of the shadows and put out the torch. There could be no mistaking this encounter: we had entered the Samurai tunnels.

"You may no longer leave this place." Movement could be heard from all around us. It was clear to us that the Samurai were using these caverns for the purpose of stealth training and the mastery of night-vision. What was heard next was the grunts and yells of my cavalry, for we were under attack.

Clashes of steel and shots of web echoed throughout the caverns. A splash of warm blood hit the side of my face. Then I received a kick to to gut as one of my troops was hurled into my direction. As I struggled to get back, the sounds of combat were winding down. We had been defeated.

I had regained consciousness some time later in a well-lit area. I laid in restraint, as has many of my subordinates. Watching from a makeshift throne was the leader of the Samurai himself: the Silver Samurai.

"I suppose you are expecting honor from our clan," the leader said. "Although I have no interest in obliging information to you, it feels best to allow you a fighting chance. Therefore, a duel is in order, one against one. Release her bonds."

The stakes had become considerably high. I must fight to free my cavalry and continue our mission.


	5. The Duelists

THE DUELISTS:

Fighting with a sword has never been my forte. In this case, matters were compounded as Silver Samurai had only allotted me my shield back. While just the right instrument for blocking his attacks, it would prove tricky to knock the sword out of his hand.

This would then be a matter that would call for distance and a long-range attack. I leapt away from his swipes and hurled my shield towards his frame. He saw fit instead to roll to the side and proceed to then charge towards me. My reaction was to slide through from between his legs and recollect my shield. The Samurai thrusts his sword into my location, fortunately I would evade this with a backflip off of the cavern wall.

For my next strategy, I observe a ladder leading up to some rafters. Silver Samurai takes one more swing as I attempt to dash towards the ladder; this would be countered by way of myself jumping upon the katana and delivering a boot to his cranium. Momentarily stunned, he stumbles to hold balance as I make my way to the ladder. I am able to make it up the ladder soundly as the Samurai would otherwise damage it with his attacks.

In fair sport, I allow the Samurai to ascend without interruption, for it seemed fitting to continue our battle atop. Holding both railings, I perform a jump-kick into his armored chest to seemingly no avail. The Samurai swings towards my left hand; I would hope that his sword would get stuck in the metal railing as a result. He simply slices straight through the bar though upon pulling the sword to a more useful position he cuts one of the support ropes. A displeased look forms upon his face, as he now knows my plan as of next, as do I.

And so begins the process in which I attempt to cut the ropes with my pocketknife whilst avoiding his attacks. There were a few close calls here and there but the plan was prevailing. The Samurai sees an opening and grabs me by the throat, a maneuver he did not fully have time to think out as I take an advantage and kick him off onto a loose section of the rafters. The section gives way and the Silver Samurai lands to the ground with a crunch and a sickening thud.

"Ughhhh..." The Samurai struggles to get back onto his feet. "So you have won. Very well, I can only assume your forces are in search of the Faded woman. You may find her by taking the north passageway. You are all free to leave, but know this: we will return, and you would be wise to fear that day."

Although slightly exhausted, I gathered my subordinates and made way through the passageway to continue our mission.


	6. Entrapment Run

ENTRAPMENT RUN

The day of light could be seen once more. The Silver Samurai had been true to his word. As all of us adjusted our eyes to the light, there was evidence of faint smoke coming from atop a cliffside. If this is not the very Faded woman we search of, the only choice left will be to risk getting lost in unfamiliar territory.

It would appear over 327 of our troops have been lost as a result of the Samurai encounter. On a more optimistic side this had been the least number of troops we have lost on a mission, and still we should have enough enforcements to handle the situation. As hopes were elated, we chose to set foot immediately towards the smoke source. Our eagerness began to shatter however Iron Person fell into a spiked pit, clearly a trap.

"Take caution!" We had assessed now that our path was not as straightforward as one would suspect. From the looks of this first encountered trap, this was not the work of either Samurai nor Fading. The popular conscience among our army was that this was the work of the Faded woman. Ever more cautious, we navigated carefully through this hazardous desert.

Not all went well for some of our soldiers. At least a dozen troop fell to additional traps in the form of spike shooters, land mines and at one point the head of a Sentinel burst out from the sand serrated a soldier with its modified beartrap-like jaws. By the time we had reached the bottom of the mountain all of us were weary, in particular Hulk.

"This...this just tears it. I'm out of pills...I'm angry..." The Hulk transformed to his ultimate form, and went to take his anger out of the mountain. An advantage could be realized from his destruction of the mountain, namely the clifftop had began to slide down, which would save us time transversing the mountain.

An hour had been taken from both navigating the desert and waiting for Hulk to finish his rampage. The smoke then cleared, and we received a response. A blast of energy knocked Hulk unconscious, causing his fall with a shockwave that toppled a few soldiers. We had officially encountered the Faded woman.

"Stand down!", the Faded yelled, cutting my command off by one split-second. I decided it would be wise to humor her at the moment. "Are you alone?" I asked. "If you are referring to my people, I stand alone, yet our provider is watching over me."

"Your provider?" It was then a near-blinding flash of blue light appeared. A lone figure stepped out from the great glow. It was none other than the fabled Kang.


	7. Face Of The Faded

FACE OF THE FADED

This had by no means been expected. Perhaps we may have been prepared for Kang with the numbers we had starting out for the mission. Presently our chances of ever taking him appear entirely futile.

"It was inevitable our operation would run into your forces," spoke Kang. "You may be rest assured, we have not returned to this planet to wage further battle upon you."

It was his reference to "this planet" that drew myself to become inquisitive. I would take the opportunity to question on this as followed. "As well you should know, the bulk of us no longer live upon this Earth. For you had declared them undesirables and insisted on their removal from your existence, so have the Faded taken new home within the Asteroid M. While you saw no value in their ideals and skills in your crusade desiring an eye for an eye, others such as I recognize the potential they still hold and worked to give them a renewed chance for a functioning society."

"...I see. However tell up then, what brings you to return to our planet now?" The Faded woman stepped up holding what appeared to be a silver-colored sphere. "We have come here briefly in search of an important resource left behind. The Orb of Rysiak shall be needed to maintain our colony for an additional millennia. Ironically, your quest to hunt us down has spared us valuable time and resources, as the Hulk's recent rampage has unearthed the Orb much earlier than we had anticipated."

"Yes," stated Kang, "for that you are owed the required gratitude. Now, seeing as our operation has come to completion we will take leave. You need no longer have concern of our presence on your planet." The blue flash of light once more appeared, and the two were gone.

It would appear all was said and done. Enamored with a content resolve, we set foot on the long journey home.


	8. The Art Against The Artist

THE ART AGAINST THE ARTIST

We had been but a few days onto our journey back to our home headquarters. Contrary to our sojourn to the mission, we were able to locate a safe path around the caverns and furthermore avoid a repeat encounter with the Samurai. In all, the way back to our home had been much more peaceful than the mission's path. In its duration I had been given time to think.

The comments made by Kang have been weighing down on my thoughts the most. Had we been too eager in our war against the Faded? Is it perhaps, even at this point, in our best interest that we should settle our differences and call a truce? Seeing as I have been sharing many of my innermost thoughts with the biographer, I have chose to discuss the matter with him.

"Hmmm, this actually reminds me of a similar situation. It was some fifteen years that I was working on a project with the Black Silver Surfer, so named as very few knew noticed he was also black. The Surfer at the time had an adversary in Allen Silvermane and the remnants of his media corporation. Now Silvermane was also at odds with the Atlanteans, and would hold no punches in his broadcasting demeanor. The Surfer of course held a good respect for the Atlanteans and did not take well to this."

"If there is one strategy that has stayed true to us, it is determining an what advantage an opponent has over us, and devising a similar asset to use against their advantage. Thus, we would need to rival his network in a way. It so happened that one of the Atlanteans found an abandoned costume of Roary, a child's entertainment character that Silvermane owned the intellectual property of. He thought that perhaps under the guise of Roary, he could go from town to town pushing support for Atlantis. The Atlanteans and the Surfer slowly began to warm up on the idea, and agreed to help this Atlantean, who preferred to keep his name in secrecy, in his quest."

"This indeed proved not an easy task, as Silvermane took his copyrights very seriously, and would frequently have him menaced. Fortunately he was well-defended by his fellow Atlanteans and the Surfer, and bit by bit he was able to get his message through, and Silvermane's company would suffer for it."

"I believe I am beginning to understand the anecdote," I said. "You are suggesting that we could use the biography to encourage a change in public opinion and work toward a common ground." The biographer nodded. "A wise direction indeed."

And so ends the story of our journey, with now the knowledge of how we have a power on how we can change our world.


End file.
